Two state representatives are sponsoring a bill that would allow Arizona school districts to approve a computer science course that would fulfill one of the math courses required for high school graduation.
“We realized that the amount of people who do computer science isn’t enough for the jobs in the field,” said Ruben Gallego, D-Phoenix, who is co-sponsoring the bill.
Tom Forese, R-Chandler and the other sponsor, said that according to a study by code.org fewer than 300 people graduated from Arizona’s state universities with computer science degrees during 2013, while there are 9,000 jobs that need computer science.
“The jobs of the future will be there, and if we don’t build that workforce we won’t be able to sustain those jobs,” Gallego said.
With the current nationwide movement to education focused on science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics, Gallego said it’s important for schools and students to have the option for computer science courses. He said computer science courses can be helpful even to students who may not be interested in pursuing a career in the field.
“It teaches students how to think,” Gallego said. “If you do computer coding, it makes you practice types of math you don’t normally apply.”
There are still several steps for this bill before it can become state law. The bill will be discussed in hearings from the Education, Higher Education and Workforce Development, and Rules committees. If it receives enough support in the committees, the bill still needs to be passed on the House and Senate floors before it goes to Gov. Jan Brewer.
Forese and Gallego both noted the importance of meeting with community stakeholders to work out the details of the bill.
“We want to encourage computer science and computer programming at the high school level,” Forese said. “That’s the main goal.”
Craig Pletenik, community relations manager at Phoenix Union High School District, said in an emailed statement that the school district would be in favor of the opportunity for students to take a computer science course in place of a fourth math requirement.
“Four years of math is very difficult for some students, especially if you follow the sequence of algebra 1-2, geometry, algebra 3-4, with that final class being precalculus, calculus or trigonometry,” Pletenik said.
Pletenik added that the district currently offers certain alternative math classes developed to fulfill the fourth mathematics requirement that align with Arizona’s College and Career Ready Standards in mathematics. They include financial algebra, where students learn to apply mathematics to “decisions about personal finances, consumer options and investments,” and a principles of math technology course, which helps students learn to use computers and technology to make mathematical analysis more efficient.
Phoenix Union also offers a number of computer science courses as part of Career and Technical Education programs, although Pletenik said none of those courses replace math.
The state Board of Education sets requirements for high school graduation in Arizona. Students must take four mathematics credits, which must include courses in algebra 1, geometry and algebra 2 or an equivalent course. The fourth must be one “that includes significant mathematics content as determined by the local school district governing board or charter school,” according to the State Board of Education administrative rule.
Christopher Kotterman, deputy director of policy development and government relations at the Arizona Department of Education, said those areas were chosen because they align readily with what is needed to gain access to college.
The department would support the option to use computer science as a fourth mathematics credit, Kotterman said. There would be an issue if any of the other math credits were substituted, because that could alter students’ ability to be accepted to the state’s universities, whose admissions requirements match the graduation requirements set by the Board of Education, Kotterman said.
“Anything that expands a student’s access to mathematics courses, especially in technology, is a good thing,” Kotterman said.
Contact the reporter at alabril@asu.edu
